When one writes about a political figure it might be fair to declare your own bias. I like to consider myself liberal and progressive and confess an admiration for Bernie Sanders. That doesn't mean that I would automatically agree with every thing or nuance he declares and I hope to retain some objectivity. In some ways he seems to be fading from serious contention with Hilary Clinton over-whelming, but Bernie in many ways is much more admirable. Loud mouth Donald Trump is getting much more media attention, but people ought to realize Bernie is their real champion.
He has been consistent over a longer period of time. He actually marched with black civil rights groups. He actually voted against the Iraq War. He is the main candidate who understand climate change is a key issue. He has consistently voted for sexual equality and fairness to tax payers and doesn't check polls to decide what to say. He was caught off guard by Black Lives Matter, but seems to understand their concerns.
In western democracies, especially in the U.S. the real rulers are wealthy. Donald Trump is not only a very wealthy man, but adept at getting attention through the media. His expressed views placates the fears of important masses. The sort who feel that blacks and Mexicans are robbing them of their culture and that any Muslim could be a terrorist. The other candidates understand these fears, but are concerned about what they must do to win over the general less bigoted population.
Bernie Sanders wants to get elected, but is not accepting money from lobbyists. He wants to focus on the real issues instead of entertainment. Inequality is his biggest concern and campaign financing which allows the very rich to distort and lie their way to further inequality. Listen to him and you will appreciate he makes sense and is on the side of the middle class.
Is he perfect? Probaby not, but getting rid of or at least diminishing the power of the wealthy to inflict their views on the rest of us is critical.
A concern of mine is Palestine where he says the right things, but doesn't get involved with details. As a Jew he shows concern for the Palestinians, but seems reluctant to get very involved as he has with other issues. It is a touchy subject with many Jewish voters. A very key issue that is long overdue a revamping.
One can anticipate tactics used against him. A CNN moderator made it sound like Bernie went on his honeymoon to Russia because he is a socialist, when in fact it was an official event decided before he became mayor of Burlington, Vermont. The word socialist is an abused word conflated with the "dirty Communists." Americans applaud individual achievement and occasionally one hears it is the society that allows that. The connection between the society and achievement is not always clear, but in reality it is a critical factor.
The biggest weapon being used against Bernie is ignoring him. The media ignores him in favour of those more friendly to the corporations that run them. When he is talked about the point is always made that he is a socialist, but few really understand that is different from Communism. In fact he had drawn some of the largest crowds of the whole campaign and most polls show his ideas are more accepted than many of those getting more publicity.
There are polls show not only that Hilary Clinton has a lead and has added to it on the Democrat side. She put on an impressive demonstration at a Congressional hearing on Benghazi that should not have been allowed to drag on. I have heard of some polls that say she has problems on the national scale convincing enough voters she is trustworthy. Bernie's problem seems to be a lack of name recognition and the aura of a bad word, "socialism." Big dollars will assure that the media will be inundated with lots of distortions of the truth. Bernie seems the man really needed.
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